United Arab Shipping Company increases its fleet with more 13,500 TEU vessels; The United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) named 13,500 TEU containership AIN SNAN in Hamburg on 25 May, 2012, MarineLink reports. The AIN SNAN was delivered after a nine-month building phase in January of this year. The 366-metre-long and 48 metre-wide ultra large container ship (ULCS) has a loading capacity of over 145,000 DWT (dead weight tonnage), providing a capacity of more than 800 slots for refrigerated containers. www.marinelink.co...

A Russian cargo ship loaded with weapons is en route to Syria and due to arrive at a Syrian port this weekend, Al Arabiya television said in a report that Western diplomats in New York described on Friday, May 26th 2012 as credible. "Al Arabiya have learned that a Russian cargo ship carrying a large amount of weapons plans to unload its cargo in the Syrian port of Tartus," the broadcaster said on its website on Thursday. The report said the ship left a Russian port on May 6 and cited a "Western source" as saying that it will dock at Tartus on Saturday. "The ship is trying to conceal its final destination in a suspicious way," Al Arabiya said. Western diplomats and officials said the report was credible. More at articles.chicagot...

The environmental organization Greenpeace blocked a freighter from being loaded with iron in the port of Sao Luis in the northern Brazilian state of Maranhao in protest against the partial veto by President Dilma Rousseff of a widely criticized land-use bill. A group of 14 Greenpeace activists sailed into the port on their ship, the Rainbow Warrior, and several climbed onto a crane that was about to load a cargo of pig iron, the raw material of iron and steel, on the freighter Clipper Hope, property of the Viena iron and steel works, the NGO said in a communique. Read more: latino.foxnews.co...

the Antigua-Barbuda-flagged cargo m/v "Planet V" on its way from Antwerp to St. Petersburg was in collision with the "MTS Vantage" on the Westerschelde on Flushing roads on May 26, 2012, at 6 p.m. after a complete loss of engine power. The crew of the "Planet V" tried to lower the anchor after the blackout to avoid a collision with the tug which was on parallel course, but the anchor chain of the "Planet V" broke and hit a crewmember on the foreship who was deadly injured. When ambulance personnel arrived on board the ship, the man was already deceased. Both ships were damaged. The tug entered the port of Flushing with own power. The cargo ship returned to the Bijleveld Port in Flushing under tow and was berthed at 20.20 p.m.

The "Planet V" on its way from Antwerp to St. Petersburg was in collision with the a tug "MTS Vantage" on the Westerschelde on Flushing roads on May 26, 2012, at 6 p.m. after a complete loss of engine power. The crew of the "Planet V" tried to lower the anchor after the blackout to avoid a collision with the tug which was on parallel course, but the anchor chain of the "Planet V" broke and hit a crewmember on the foreship who was deadly injured. When ambulance personnel arrived on board the ship, the man was already deceased. The Dutch tug entered the port of Flushing with own power. The cargo ship returned to the Bijleveld Port in Flushing under tow and was berthed at 20.20 p.m.

The "Lanka Mahapola" has been detained at the Durban Port for non-payment of wages to the crew. The vessel was detained on May 17, 2012, on a directive from a local court following written complaints by several members of the crew that they had not received their wages for two months and conditions on the ship were poor. All but two of the 26-member crew that included seven officers were Sri Lankans while the remaining two were Ukrainians. The vessel carrying general cargo come to Durban from Jeddah. According to the sources the International Transport workers Federation (ITF) was looking after the interests of the crew members in cooperation with its head office in London. The vessel had been leased out to a private company, Triple. S. Shipping, which was responsible for the crew and the cargo on board. Most of the crew members were set to sign off once the wages issue was cleared and return to Colombo at the earliest. The "Lanka Mahapola" was involved in a heated stand-off between the captain and the crew late in 2011 over the same issue at a port in Sudan and subsequently the bulk of the crew signed-off once they had received their dues.

11 men, which is more than half the crew members of the "Maersk Alabama" which was at the center of a piracy drama off Somalia in April 2009 are seeking damages totaling nearly $50 million. The five-day standoff ended when Navy SEALs killed three of Capt. Richard Phillips' captors. While Phillips was hailed as a hero, his former crew members allege the New Englander's actions put them in grave danger when the ship sailed within about 250 miles of the African coast despite warnings to stay at least 600 miles offshore because of the threat of piracy. The ship's owner and a contractor are named in the suits, filed in Norfolk and Alabama.

One crew member was killed after taking a shortcut to disembark from the "Dette G" in a UK port on May 16, 2012. The sman used the pilot gate instead of the accommodation ladder on the vessel, fell into a narrow 50-cm gap between the vessel and the quay and suffered a fractured skull. The UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) launched an investigation.

In the evening of May 24, 2012, a faulty refridgerator set alight the living quarter of the "Main Donau" which was underway on the Main in Collenberg, Miltenberg Community. The "Main-Donau" just had berthed in Collenberg, when thecoxswain remarked the fire and called the fire brigade which was soon on scene with 30 men. Though the fire could be extinguished within short time, the damage to the interior was about 20000 Euro.

The Eggner’s Ferry bridge reopened on May 25 with a new 322-foot span to replace the one that was torn away when the "Delta Mariner" struck it Jan. 26. The bridge which is an entry to the western side of Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area along U.S. 68/Kentucky 80, was being crossed by vehicles traveling on both lanes of the narrow bridge just after 1 p.m. Hall Contracting of Kentucky was awarded a $7 million contract and completed the repair work two days ahead of schedule. The Coast Guard and the National Transportation and Safety Board are still investigating the crash. During a hearing in Apri, the master of the "Delta Mariner" had testified that faulty lighting on the bridge was the main cause of the crash. A state engineering supervisor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet testified that a tug had previously hit the same span of the bridge and damaged a green navigation light. He said one side of the bridge remained dark after a series of malfunctions, but lights on the side approached by the "Delta Mariner" were working the night of the crash.

The S.S. Badger car ferry left Manitowoc on May 25, where it was docked overnight after striking a sandbar. The "Badger" sailed for its home port of Ludington, Michigan, after the ferry ran into trouble Thursday as it approached the harbor in Manitowoc on its first trip of the season. When it hit the sandbar, a piston ring broke on one of the ferryboat's engines, making it nearly impossible for the "Badger" to navigate to its moorings. Report with photo: www.jsonline.com/...

Authorities planned to move the "AFL New England" on May 26, 2012, after it has been anchored in Bedford Basin for almost a month as the company operating was shut down. The "AFL New England" is running out of fuel and food for its 14 crew members. The ship was slated to move with own engine, accompanied by a pilot boat, to Pier 33 at Ocean Terminals. The container ship was left stranded when New York-based American Feeder Lines International shut down its chartered New England container service on April 27. Initially, it was thought the ship would return to sea quickly, as soon as its German owners, Rass Shipping, found a new operator for the vessel. But then warrants for outstanding debt began piling up at the Federal Court of Canada, preventing it from leaving until it gets clearance from the court. The list of creditors that have a hold on the ship includes Portland Pilots Inc., Atlantic Pilotage Authority, F.K. Warren Ltd., Boston Harbor Pilot Association, Massachusetts Port Authority and Cerescorp Co.

arrived Jiangyin Scrapyard at 24.051.2

In the morning of May 23, 2012, the "Brandal", which was to strengthen the ferry capacity between Halsa Kanestraum had to remain at the quay because of a missing engineer. Only at 10 a.m. a second engineer was on board and the ferry went into service. Company personnel shortages were made responsible.

Cocaine with an estimated street value of £3.3m has been seized from the "Hope Bay" after it docked in Portsmouth on Apr 30, 2012. Packages of the drug were found on the ship while it was docked at Flat House Quay, after it arrived from Colombia. Border Force officers discovered the 33 kg haul concealed in a hold as containers of fruit were unloaded. A further 32 kg of the drug, with a street value of £3.2m, was discovered when the vessel arrived in Flushing on May 1. The second haul was found after Dutch customs had been alerted by UK border officials. Although the first haul was found on 30 April, the seizure can only now be reported following the conclusion of a joint exercise by the Border Force, Dutch customs and French customs investigations service, the DNRED. No arrests have been made but inquiries are ongoing into the two seizures. Report with photo: www.bbc.co.uk/new...

Coast Guard aircrews piloting two MH-65 Dolphin helicopters conducted a medical evacuation of a 35-year-old Polish woman suffering symptoms of pneumonia aboard the cruise ship The World, approximately 92 miles southwest of Kona, Big Island, on May 25, 2012. Coast Guard watchstanders in Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu was notified of the patient's condition at approximately 9 p.m. on May 24. At the time, the vessel was 293 miles southwest of Kona, Big Island. The "World" was originally en route to Honolulu but diverted to the Big Island to conduct the medevac. The ship’s doctor was treating the patient and her condition was stable at that time. He reported that the ship would have an insufficient amount of oxygen by the time they reached port, due to the amount the patient was consuming, at 6 a.m. on May 25. The Coast Guard flight surgeon, upon hearing this, recommended the patient be medically evacuated and taken to a hospital ashore to receive treatment. Coast Guard aircrews aboard two Dolphins and an HC-130 Hercules airplane were launched to conduct the medevac. The C-130 provided air cover for the operation. The first Dolphin rendezvoused with the ship 115 miles south of the coast to deliver oxygen for the patient at 11 a.m. The second helicopter met the ship 92 miles southwest of Kona and safely hoisted the patient at approximately 12:15 p.m. The patient was taken to Kona Community Hospital for further treatment.

The "Urd" left Vigeroe on May 25 at 4.45 p.m. after completition of repairs of the damage suffered in the collision with the "Nils Holgersson". On its first voyage the ship headed for Liepaja, ETA May 27.